Department of Entomology - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Five University of Illinois professors at the Urbana-Champaign campus have been named University Scholars in recognition of their excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. They will be honored at a Sept. 12 ceremony at the I Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 S. First St., Champaign.

Monday, October 21

Congratulations to Scott Clem, doctoral candidate in Dr. Alex Harmon-Threatt's lab, for being awarded the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Predoctoral Fellowship for $119,990 (award no. 2019-67011-29504). This is a two-year fellowship coupled with funding to continue his research on hover fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) migration and other winter survival strategies.

Struggling to right themselves when stranded on their backs, click beetles have a remarkable correction strategy. Arching the joint between the front and second section of the thorax, the beetles suddenly release the deformation and spring spontaneously into the air. Entomologist Marianne Alleyne collaborated with Aimy Wissa, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and others to examine the structure holding the latch structure together.

A new online tool and community, called Beescape, enables beekeepers, or anyone interested in bees, to understand the specific stressors to which the bees in their managed hives, home gardens or farms are exposed, according to researchers at the University of Illinois, through a collaboration with Penn State University.

Featured Photo

A Halloween pennant rests on a flower stalk.Celithemis eponina (Odonata: Libellulidae)Photo: James Whitfield